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I am not sure if you all know that I am on facebook. Yes really!! My sons made sure that I entered the 21st Century!! Albeit kicking and screaming but I do have my toe in the door of modern technology!

To find me search on your facebook page for Grandma’s Attic and I should be there with my stairs to the attic logo. I would love for you to find me and like and share my page. I try to put all sorts of free links and patterns for Knitting, crochet and patchwork on there along with other kinds nonsense to make you laugh or stretch your imagination and increase your stitch library.

Feel free to post things to share and let us know what you are making and for who. Post pictures of your handy work and if you want to share patterns etc that would be fantastic.

I look forward to seeing all my old friends and customers and to meeting lots of new ones in the New Year so until then

I hope the Christmas spirit is with you and you have all your shopping, wrapping and preparations completed and can relax with a ball of wool and your favourite tipple!!

This is a word of warning for you, as we all know about Christmas excesses and I don’t want you to overindulge and suffer the consequences. There is no point in trying to give up the yarn this christmas and go Cold Turkey over the festive season. (There will be enough cold turkey in the fridge). So…………..

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH YARN AS I WILL BE CLOSED FOR A WHILE!!!

I will be open on Tuesday 22nd December as normal (10 – 5.30) and on

Christmas Eve 10 – 2 pm (Electricity permitting – as essential work is being carried out and I am to be on a generator)!!

I will then be closed until the 6th January2015 when normal opening hours will be resumed. For any yarn Emergencies you can contact Maria on 07840002100. But please remember this is only for real Yarn Emergencies. For cold Turkey go to the fridge!!

The Wednesday Women Charity Knitting /group will resume on Wednesday 7th January and the Thursday night class on the 8th January.

Have a wonderful Christmas and All the Very best for the New Year to all my customers and friends. Thank you for your custom in 2014 and I look forward to seeing all your new and inspired projects through 2015.

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Well the rain is back and the temperature had dropped. We had a fantastic summer and a lovely September but Knitting season is finally here!! Just in time as all the new stock has arrived and after a hectic week putting it all away I am pleased to be able to take a moment to tell you what’s new and exciting.

Lots of bright colours and chunky wools this season. We have new colours in the ever popular super chunky Bon Bon by Rico. This lush yarn comes in 100g balls and is 53% wool. The cost is £7.50 per ball and one ball ball makes a hat and 2 balls will make a fab snood or scarf for the winter months to come, or dare I say it, a Christmas present!!

Also from Rico is an interesting yarn called Glow worm that has a reflective strip running through it. Colours include turquoise, bright pink, orange and lime green. For the more conservative among you there is a taupe and grey colour too. Perfect for teenagers walking home in the dark or cyclists. Or just a bit of fun. Make a hat, leg warmers or wrist warmers and BE SEEN AND BE SAFE. Even make something and wrap it round a torch for a stocking filler for your little one. Who remembers having a torch under the bedclothes on Christmas morning? On the practical side it is 30% wool and sells for £6.50 per 100g ball.

From Adriafil we have new colours in the Knitcol. This is 100% Merino wool and knits to a fairisle pattern. Beautiful and reasonably priced at £3.99 per 50g ball.

Also from Adriafil we have a new line, Sierra Andina. This is 100% extra fine pure Alpaca. You have to feel it to believe it. It is the softest wool I have ever felt. Gorgeous subtle colours and sells at £5.99 for 50g. It is a 4ply wool but don’t be put off by the fineness of it as you could make a lovely pair of gloves that you would never want to take off!!

Another new one from Adriafil is Scozia. A chunky wool in tweedie colours. It is 60%wool and sells for £3.99 per 50g ball.

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Want something different to do this summer? Want to learn a new skill and add a couple of items to your wardrobe? Well I am pleased to announce that here at Grandma’s Attic we are holding a Summer Sewing Spectacular.

We are holding a 5 week course on basic dressmaking and at the end of it you will take home a lovely made to measure skirt or a pair of trousers and a bag. You will be taught how to insert zips, line a bag and most importantly how to sew a straight line!!

This is a great opportunity to meet new friends and start to build up your own handmade wardrobe. The very popular tv show “The Great British Sewing Bee” is responsible for an upturn in dressmaking but if you didn’t learn the basics in school it is very hard to make sense of patterns etc without some tuition, so this is our aim. The course is to be held at Grandma’s Attic, Belleek every wednesday commencing on the 30th July for 5 weeks.

The cost of the course is £50 plus materials. You can buy your own material or we can provide it for you at a very competitive cost. You can choose plain or print, subtle or LOUD!! Choose to suit your personality.

If you have your own sewing machine then bring it along and learn how to use it expertly or if not then don’t worry you can use the machines here at Grandma’s Attic

For more information or to book your place call me, Shirley on 02868659955

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Hello my fellow knitters. I am very disappointed to inform you all that I have been the victim of a shoplifter!! “So what” I hear you say, “lots of people lose things to thieves everyday”, which is of course true. But the garment that was stolen some time this week was a very expensive 100% Hand knit Merino wool in a very distinctive colour. It was a beautiful shade of purple with a lime green trim and was originally knit for my granddaughter but, by the time I had it finished (due to knitting things for other customers) it was too small so I put it up for sale in the shop. I was only asking the price of the wool which was £29.50. No charge for all the love that was knit into it. It was a 1 year old size and quite a plain pattern with a sort of ridge every inch or so running vertical.

This is pretty close to the colour but possible a bit deeper.

If anyone in the Belleek or surrounding area is offered this garment for sale please let me know where and when as this is the sort of thing that puts small business OUT of business. Either that or the price of everything else increases to compensate for losses and no one wants that!

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As you all know the Wonderful Wednesday Woman have been making cushions for the Cardiac Unit at Belfast Royal Hospital for over 12 months now. We are, at last, going to take a trip to the hospital and see for ourselves where they go and how they are used. We are going to meet the nurses and possibly some consultants and learn first hand how the cushions help the recovery of the patients. It is being funded by the hospital and we are all looking forward to it immensely.

I know that a lot of people do a lot of things for charity and don’t expect any thanks but it is nice sometimes to have some sort of recognition. The Wednesday Ladies have been knitting and raising money for charity for over 45 years and this is the first time they will be officially thanked for their efforts. We are also featured in this months Inside Crochet under the title of “Shops we Love” so fame at last!!

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Fame at Last!! Issue 53 of Inside Crochet features Grandma’s Attic as the “Shop we Love”. Recognition for all the hard work the Wednesday Women do for charity. (more about this in a separate blog). Some fabulous patterns in this months issue too, so don’t be slow go out and buy a copy!!

There is a fab crochet pattern for a cake cover that is stiffened with sugar and water. Perfect for al fresco lunches in the summer sun, or lush summer camping trips. I am going to have a go and will post my creation!!

I have several unfinished projects on the go at the moment so I am going to make an effort to finish them all before the end of April!! Wish me luck…

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Due to the success of recent TV shows such as “The Great British Bake Off” more and more of us are having a go at baking that “special” cake for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings etc.

I am pleased to say that Grandma’s Attic are now stocking some cute little cake toppers to finish them off professionally. For £2.95 you can have a lively footballer for your “Budding Beckham” or for £3.95 a Princess for your Princess.

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I would just like to wish the new crocheting group in Enniskillen the very best of luck with this new venture.

They met for the first time last night and I went along to get them started. They are all new to the art of crochet so it was quite challenging for all concerned as it was a BIG group. But we got there in the end with a few laughs and a few big sighs!! Everyone went home with at least one row of crochet completed and all the knowledge needed to complete a simple treble scarf.

So A big WELL DONE to you all and you can give yourselves a pat on the back!!

Next week we are going to master the art of a granny square. These can be tricky to get started but they are the base of many patterns and a lovely and simple thing to learn. You can use up all your odds and ends on these squares and then join all up and make a blanket, bag, waistcoat, scarf or anything at all. All you need is a big of imagination. We made bags last year from a slight variation of this square and they are lovely. Great for keeping your knitting in or taking to the beach on those far of summer holidays!!